Page 36 of Sugarplum Dreams
Chapter Sixteen
“You seem extra thoughtful tonight,” Terry said as she came over to Judd’s chair and began to knead his shoulders gently.
He closed his eyes. Terry had been the best thing that had ever happened to him. He wasn’t quite sure why God saw fit to give him such an amazing wife, but he was very, very grateful.
Her fingers worked magic on his shoulders, and he felt his whole body relaxing.
“I guess it’s a thoughtful night.” It was Christmas night. They had spent most of the day at Terry’s family’s house. There was so much going on with her siblings, with all the kids, and the excitement and the happiness of watching them open their gifts, and seeing the family banter and enjoy each other’s company. It couldn’t compare to going to his house where his mother required formal dress and the dinner conversation was boring, at best.
But they were finally home, and he had settled himself in the recliner after building a fire for them both to enjoy.
“Is that all it is?” Terry asked gently, and he knew that was her way of saying that if he didn’t want to tell her, he didn’t have to. But he always wanted to tell her everything. There were just some things he couldn’t.
But since things had worked out for Wilson, he supposed it was okay for him to say this one thing.
“I’ve lost my partner in the Secret Saint endeavors.”
“You have?” she asked, her voice surprised, her fingers stilling for a moment before they started again, soothing and relaxing his muscles.
“I did. I’m a little bummed about it.”
“Who?” she asked, and then she added immediately, “If you can tell me.”
“I think I can. Since he has officially quit his duties.” Terry wrote for the town social media site, and her specific job was to detail the actions of the Secret Saint and postulate on his identity. That was part of the reason that Judd had not shared this information with her previously.
“Who?” she asked, her fingers remaining gentle despite the excitement in her voice.
“Your brother, Wilson.”
Her fingers stopped completely, and she moved around his chair to stand in front of him, her hands on her hips.
“No way. You’re kidding, right?” She tilted her head and looked at him as though she were trying to tell whether he was lying or not. He knew she knew that he was honest, so he wasn’t worried about that, but it probably was taking her a little bit of extra time to adjust to this.
“It’s true. Wilson was my partner and most of the time the one who came up with the ideas. And who was in a better position to do it than Wilson? After all, he’s got your mom’s contacts with all of her friends, plus all of your siblings. Hepretty much is connected to everything in the town of Mistletoe Meadows.”
“That makes perfect sense. Half the time, I wondered if my mom was involved.”
“She doesn’t know. At least as far as I know, she doesn’t know.”
“Not unless Wilson would have told her. But I don’t think he had. I don’t think he’s told anyone, or surely I would have heard about it.”
“He will play this pretty tight to the vest, and now that you’re in the position that you’re in, no one’s probably going to be telling you anything.”
“I know. It stinks. Except, I’m actually in on it.” She grinned and knelt down in front of him, picking up one of his stocking feet and rubbing the bottom of it.
His eyes drifted until they were half closed, and he grinned at her. “I knew there was a reason I married you.”
“Oh, stop. You’ve done so much for me, and I feel bad that I’m not around as much as I would like to be. The practice has kept me busier than I thought.”
“That’s because people love you. And people from other towns are coming here. You know you could close and stop accepting new patients.”
“I know. I should do that or hire another doctor to work with me.” She sighed. “I spent all my life so far studying and working, and I know that this is my time to earn money, and I started later than most people did, but… I just want to be with you. I know that’s normal for newlyweds, but it’s a real effort to get out of bed and go to work in the morning.”
“We didn’t have to do it today.”
“And I don’t have to do it tomorrow either. What do you suppose we ought to do?”
“I don’t know. You tell me,” he said, his eyes glinting at her.
